What Is Salt Nicotine? E-Liquid 101 for Beginners

The emergence of the latest pod vaping systems has created a remarkable shift for vapers worldwide, particularly for those new to the scene and attempting to quit smoking permanently. These pod systems are unique due to their simultaneous evolution with nicotine salt e-liquid, engineered explicitly to provide optimal performance when using nicotine salt.

But what does this imply precisely? As a novice vaper, you might have spent some time browsing through vaping blogs seeking guidance. It’s likely you’ve encountered the advice suggesting that nicotine salt is often the best choice for beginners – but what is salt nicotine? Why is nicotine salt vape juice considered the most suitable option for smokers transitioning to vaping?

By reading this article, you’ll discover clear answers to these queries. Get ready for a lesson in Vaping 101. So, what is nicotine salt?

What Is Salt Nicotine?

Within the tobacco plant, nicotine exists naturally as a protonated salt. Essentially, a nicotine molecule carries an additional proton that attaches it to a salt. In its salt form, nicotine isn’t particularly volatile, making it challenging to produce high yields during the extraction process. Consequently, tobacco manufacturers aiming to extract nicotine – for use in e-liquid or nicotine replacement therapies, for example – commonly employ solvents.to enhance the yields of extraction.

In nicotine extraction, ammonia is arguably the most widely utilized solvent; however, various high-pH solvents can serve the purpose. When tobacco is introduced to an alkaline solvent, it separates the proton that keeps the nicotine bound to the salt, resulting in a more volatile form known as freebase nicotine.

The extracted nicotine is predominantly found in its freebase form. Serving as the foundation for all e-liquids, even nicotine salt e-liquid originates from freebase nicotine. Additionally, freebase nicotine is commonly utilized in most over-the-counter nicotine replacement therapies. Conversely, nicotine salt e-liquid is essentially freebase nicotine vape juice with a minor adjustment – nothing too complicated, right?

However, the sensations experienced while using freebase nicotine compared to nicotine salt can be significantly different. To begin, we’ll delve deeper into the advantages and disadvantages of freebase nicotine. Following this, we will explain what salt nicotine e-liquid is and explore its distinctive advantages.

Benefits and Drawbacks of Freebase Nicotine

During the initial years of vaping, freebase nicotine e-liquid was the sole available option, and most vapers were perfectly satisfied with it. Nonetheless, some individuals struggled to fully transition from smoking to vaping. For these users, nicotine salt proves useful – while freebase nicotine e-liquid remains a viable choice for everyone else. Here’s an overview of the pros and cons of freebase nicotine vape juice.

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More Bioavailable: Freebase Nicotine vs. Nicotine Salt

When comparing freebase nicotine to nicotine salt, the former proves to be more bioavailable. This is attributed to the volatility of freebase nicotine, which allows it to evaporate more readily into vapor when heated. If you have both a freebase nicotine e-liquid and a nicotine salt e-liquid, each containing the same nicotine strength – the one with freebase nicotine will typically provide a more satisfying experience.

Strong Throat Hit Delivered by Freebase Nicotine at High Strengths

A defining characteristic of freebase nicotine is its ability to provide a pronounced throat hit, especially in e-liquids with elevated nicotine strengths. This aspect can be seen as both an advantage and a drawback. At high nicotine levels, the throat hit from freebase nicotine e-liquid is assertive and scratchy, reminiscent of traditional cigarette smoke. However, this intense throat hit can be unappealing to some users, which is one motivation behind the development of nicotine salt e-liquids, a topic we will explore further shortly.

Bold Flavor Experience from Freebase Nicotine at Low Strengths

While freebase nicotine e-liquid is known for its robust throat hit at high strengths, it truly excels at lower levels when used in a sub-ohm vaping setup. The latest high-quality vape tanks are designed to generate significant vapor clouds. In fact, these modern tanks are commonly paired with low-nicotine e-liquids.

The prevalent nicotine strength for users of contemporary sub-ohm tanks is 3 mg/ml, and at this level, freebase nicotine e-liquid performs exceptionally well. It offers bold, authentic flavors with minimal throat hit, ensuring satisfaction due to the high bioavailability of nicotine.

Understanding Nicotine Salt E-Liquid

As this article has shown, most nicotine extraction occurs in the presence of an alkaline solvent. By increasing the nicotine’s pH, the proton bond is disrupted, thus liberating the nicotine molecule from its salt form and converting it into a free base. Additionally, you have learned that freebase nicotine serves as the foundation for all vape juice, including nicotine salt e-liquid. But how do e-liquid manufacturers revert freebase nicotine back to a salt? The solution is quite straightforward: they incorporate an acid to decrease the nicotine’s pH.

Essentially, nicotine salt e-liquid closely resembles standard freebase nicotine e-liquid. The only distinction is that nicotine salt e-liquid includes a mild food-grade acid, such as benzoic acid. Just a small amount of acid is sufficient…
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What Are the Advantages of Salt Nicotine Vape Juice?

This article has already highlighted one of the primary advantages of freebase nicotine: its higher bioavailability, making it more satisfying at the same nicotine strength compared to nicotine salt. However, we’ve also acknowledged a significant downside to freebase nicotine e-liquids, which is the overwhelming and unpleasant strong throat hit that some users experience at elevated nicotine levels.

The drawbacks of freebase nicotine e-liquids become particularly pronounced when using smaller vaping devices. To achieve nicotine content per puff similar to that of a cigarette, a very compact e-cigarette would require an e-liquid with around 50 mg/ml nicotine strength. Nevertheless, attaining such high concentrations with freebase nicotine is quite challenging because the throat hit becomes excessively harsh. Typically, users can only manage nicotine strengths of up to roughly 18 mg/ml with freebase e-liquids.

The throat irritation caused by high-strength freebase nicotine is due to its alkalinity, an issue that nicotine salt e-liquids resolve. With a more neutral pH, nicotine salt does not produce the same throat irritation associated with high-strength freebase nicotine e-liquids. This allows for the creation of vape juice with nicotine strengths of 50 mg/ml or more—equivalent to cigarette-level nicotine delivery—that remains smooth and pleasant for users.

While freebase nicotine boasts greater bioavailability than nicotine salt, the availability of higher nicotine strengths in nicotine salt e-liquids compensates for this difference. Regardless of nicotine type, e-liquids with higher strengths will invariably deliver a more satisfying experience than their lower-strength counterparts.

Identifying the Best Vapes for Nicotine Salt

To effectively use nicotine salt e-liquid, selecting the appropriate vaping device is crucial. Luckily, at Innokin, we have dedicated an entire article to discussing the top salt nic vapes – check out that article for helpful tips.

The range of vaping devices available today is vast, but not all are suitable for nicotine salt because these liquids often contain very high nicotine concentrations. A strong sub-ohm vape mod is not ideal for a nicotine strength of 50 mg/ml; otherwise, you risk ingesting too much nicotine, which can lead to an unpleasant experience or even discomfort.

For those wanting to try a high-strength nicotine salt e-liquid, it’s essential to use a device that caters to the mouth-to-lung (MTL) inhaling style. MTL vapes produce smaller vapor clouds, which is precisely what you need with a high-nicotine e-liquid.

At Innokin, we make it easy to identify the intended inhaling styles of our devices to minimize any confusion. If you’re uncertain whether a specific Innokin device is suitable for nicotine salt, just refer to the product description for clarification. Typically, a mouth-to-lung device has a narrow mouthpiece and small airflow vents, whereas a device designed for high-strength nicotine salt e-liquids will generally not feature a wide mouthpiece or large airflow vents.